Can A New NASCAR Team Be The Equalizer For Drivers?

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Harvick

Next, there’s Kevin Harvick. He got his start in The Sprint Cup Series when Dale Earnhardt died and Richard Childress Racing needed a replacement driver to fill the shoes of The Intimidator. The move was deemed a success, as Harvick won three races after his debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win was reminiscent of Earnhardt’s win over Bobby Labonte at Atlanta years earlier.

Harvick then picked up another win at Chicagoland in his rookie season and even finished the season ninth in final point’s standings. After his rookie season in Sprint Cup, The California native fell into a sophomore slump, only capturing one win at Chicagoland and eight Top-ten’s. He also got his first pole of his career at the July race in Daytona.

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Despite some up and down seasons, Harvick had a resurgence in 2006, finding victory lane five times, including tracks like Phoenix, New Hampshire and Watkins Glen. Despite the best season of his career up to that point, he had trouble at tracks like Kansas, Atlanta and Charlotte, ultimately knocking him out of championship contention.

His next best seasons were 2010 and 2011, where Harvick captured the checkered flag seven times and finished third in the standings two straight times. While Harvick had come close to championship glory on multiple occasions up to that point, he still wasn’t able to seal the deal with RCR and capture a Series Championship.

Although Harvick was close to capturing a title in the 2010 and 2011 season, he didn’t come anywhere close to that in 2012. In fact, he only scored one win that season, which was his first single win season since 2007. He also finished eighth in points that season, his worst points finish since the 2009 season.

With the absence of a championship still hanging over his head, rumors began to surface that Harvick would be leaving RCR at the end of the 2013 season. It was later revealed that Harvick would indeed be leaving RCR once his contract expired at the end of the season and would be moving to Stewart Haas Racing to chase championships. The parting was reportedly mutual as both Harvick and Childress decided it was time to move on.

Harvick started the 2014 season on a lukewarm note, finishing 13^th at the season opener at Daytona, despite having a strong car throughout the entire race. Harvick followed that up with a dominant win at Phoenix where he led 224 laps of the race and ran away from the rest of the field on restarts. The win guaranteed him a spot in the 2015 Chase for The Sprint Cup and also propelled Harvick into the fourth position in points.

Harvick began to struggle a bit throughout the next few weeks, finishing 30^th or worse in three straight races and failing to be competitive. Despite these horrendous finishes, Harvick was then able to get back on track with a seventh place finish at Martinsville and followed that up with a win Two weeks later at Darlington Raceway.

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Since his win at Darlington, Harvick captured Ten Top-ten’s in the last 18 races of the regular season and was seeded eight in The Chase for The Sprint Cup. Harvick started out with two Top-ten in the first two races of The Chase and even moved into the points lead after finishing 13^th at Dover Motor Speedway. The strong also finishes helped Harvick secure a spot in the next round of The Chase.

He then fell to sixth place in the standings after a 13^th place finish at Kansas Motor Speedway and was possibly in danger of being eliminated from The Chase. Harvick wouldn’t let that happen however, as he claimed his first Chase victory of the year at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which guaranteed him a spot in the next round of The Chase For The Sprint Cup.

After the win at Charlotte, Harvick finished the second round of The Chase with a 9^th place finish at Talladega and moved was then seeded first for the next round of The Chase. Despite holding the points lead once again, Harvick had an abysmal 33^rd place finish at Martinsville and fell back down to eight in the standings. With two races to go before the championship round, Harvick was again in danger of losing his chance at The Sprint Cup Title.

He remedied this quickly with another win at Phoenix Motor Raceway. The win guaranteed Harvick a spot in the final round of The Chase and also was one of his most dominant wins to date in The Sprint Cup Series. When all was said and done, Harvick couldn’t be denied and one his first title a week later with a win at Homestead Miami Speedway. This not only gave him the first title of his career, but the second championship for Stewart Haas Racing.

While the above drivers have had a great deal of successes and even championship titles since leaving the team they first drove for, other drivers have not been so lucky and have drifted off the radar in The Sprint Cup Series. Sure, drivers need to make the best move for their career, but how do you know when your next move will be the thing that rejuvenated it, or ends it entirely? That’s the choice every driver must make.